CnmnewsNetwork

Iraqi army kills more than 300 IS militants, liberates 31 Tal Afar districts

Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said the campaign against the militant group in Tal Afar would end soon.

After routing the jihadists from Iraq s second city Mosul in July following a gruelling nine-month-long battle, Iraqi forces launched an assault Sunday on Tal Afar, where an estimated 1,000 jihadists are holed up.

Tal Afar is about 150 kilometers, or 93 miles, from Syria's border and it's among the last IS-held towns in Iraq.

The U.S. -led coalition is providing air strikes and other support to Iraqi forces.

It lies along the supply route between Syria and the former ISIL-stronghold of Mosul.

The Tal Afar offensive involves all branches of the Iraqi security forces, including three army divisions, the counterterrorism service, federal police and emergency response divisions, police and local militias, according to the USA military. Tal Afar was cut off from the rest of ISIL-held territory in June.

"The enemy is completely surrounded", Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the US-led coalition against IS, said on Thursday in a joint press conference with Iraqi spokesman Yahya Rasool, Al Jazeera reported. The Hashd al-Shaabi announced that as of Friday, Iraqi bomb disposal teams had been able to clear 14 kilometres of explosives and bombs in the liberated areas of Tal Afar inside houses and on streets.

According to the Iraqi army spokesperson, the quick collapse of IS in Tal Afar highlighted the group's "lack of command and control structures".

The operation to recapture Tal Afar began on August 20.

Tens of thousands of people are believed to have fled in the weeks before the battle started. Several divisions of Iraqi security, including the American-trained Counter Terrorism Forces, were advancing on Tal Afar from different sides.

On Tuesday, U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said residents were arriving at refugee camps starving and with wounds from sniper fire and mine explosions.

Recommended News

The Batman , directed by Matt Reeves has become the latest super hero movie to have a rocky start in development. It is possible that the studio would avoid making a statement till the release of Justice League .

Amnesty International said there were now fears over how Myanmar's notoriously abusive security forces might respond. The UN committee conducted a year-long research to find long-term solutions to bring back peace to Rakhine state .

Jack Isaac gained one A* and four As among a good set of results and said the teachers had proved very supportive. Our results are up on a year ago , yet in many ways this is a completely different exam just with the same name.

Wynn Macau fell almost 2 percent, and Melco International dropped 1.6 percent. "We hope to do something concrete", she said. On Saturday, an estimated 20 water trucks were dispatched to Macau and some 360,000 bottles of water were imported.

In her official statement following her meeting with Amano on Wednesday, Haley did not mention "military sites" specifically. Hayley said that she is trying to improve upon the nuclear deal by stopping Iran from launching ballistic missiles .

The Weeknd , who was previously announced as a performer, is now absent on the Performers list of artists on the MTV .com website. Jesse Ignjatovic returns as Executive Producer for the 2017 "MTV Video Music Awards ".

And this is actually good news for SpaceX as a business, as much as Musk may love to cultivate his relationship with the media. The company launched FORMOSAT-5 from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Officials and witnesses told the Associated Press that the death toll was 60 and that the majority of those killed were rebels. Sanaa is packed with armed men and armored vehicles, fueling fears of open clashes between Saleh's forces and the Houthis.

Yellen's predecessor, Ben Bernanke, signaled a new round of Fed bond purchases in 2010 to try to invigorate a weak USA recovery. However, orders for transportation equipment plunged 19%, weighing on the overall orders for durable goods.

Her case received a boost from a vocal campaign by the Indian Muslim Women's Movement that had pushed for a ban for years. Most of the 170 million Muslims in India are Sunnis governed by Muslim Personal Law for family matters and disputes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday evening that meetings with a high-level delegation of U.S. officials earlier in the day were "helpful and meaningful".

Follow Us!

Join The Conversation

We are pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news.
Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper.
Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

Yankees involved in three benches-clearing brawls
Overall, the Yanks are "not going to lay down and let your best hitter (Sanchez) get plunked by a 96, 97 miles per hour fastball". Come October, they'll look back on this game as a bonding experience that produced the rally cry in the hunt for number 28.

Active shooter situation in downtown Charleston, SC
Andrew Locke, another salon employee, said the situation was "nerve-wracking", especially in trying to take care of customers. He says one person was killed in a hostage situation at the restaurant where the suspect worked.

Assassin's Creed and Final Fantasy XV Crossover Announced
Apparently cosplaying as an Assassin's Creed character is such a phenomenon that it's infiltrated the world of Final Fantasy 15 . For more from the convention, stay tuned to IGN's Gamescom hub for all of the latest news, previews, and more.

Jerry Sullivan's Power Take: Advantage Cavs in Kyrie deal
Danny Ainge didn't know he was going to get Kyrie Irving when he traded away the first overall pick days before the draft. What's that trade with the Cavaliers looking like? Irving reportedly will waive his trade kicker to complete the deal.